Monday, March 1, 2010

Summer Rolls in the Winter

Maybe it's because spring was in the air over the past couple of days (and by this I mean not freezing temps and some sun!), but I really have been craving light, summery food. I think I just needed a break from the heavier, richer winter dishes. In any case, I decided to try my hand at one of my favorite light dishes - summer rolls. I based my recipe loosely on this recipe on VeganYumYum. These rolls were definitely labor intensive; don't plan on making these unless you have at least a solid hour available. But if you have the time, these are well worth it! I'd recommend serving this with a Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Tofu and Veggie Summer Rolls-canola oil-1 14 oz. package extra firm tofu, cut into wide matchsticks-1 cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks-2 carrots, peeled and grated-1 ripe avocado, sliced and tossed with juice from half a lime-1 1/2 cups spinach, chopped finely-1 small package cellophane noodles-rice paper wrappers-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped-1/4 cup Vegannaise-2 tsp sriracha-juice of half a lime-salt and pepper-Heat a couple tablespoons of canola oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Pan fry the tofu until golden on two sides, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the pan, drain on a paper towel, and set aside.-Boil a pot of water, add the cellophane noodles, and turn off heat. Stir noodles until soft, 3-4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and drain again.-In a small bowl, mix together the cilantro, Vegannaise, sriracha, lime juice, and salt and pepper. Add the noodles to the sauce and stir to combine. Set aside.-In the pot, add about an inch of water and heat over low heat. The water should be warm, but not hot enough that you can't put your fingers in the water. -Soften a rice paper wrapper in the warm water; this should take about 10 seconds. Lay the wrapper flat on a plate. Fill the center with noodles, tofu, cucumber, carrot, spinach, and avocado. Fold the rice paper around the pile like a burrito.-Repeat the above process until your ingredients are gone. I got 8 rolls (and one mess up!) out of these ingredients.-Serve with dipping sauce of your choice. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.